Copy and Replace
by aspiringTechGuy1617
Summary: Updated 11/4 with an important announcement.
1. Prologue - Part 1

**(A/N): I realize that people hate these, so I'll keep this one short. This story isn't meant to take place in a particular continuity. I'm drawing my inspiration mainly from Grant Morrison's JLA books and the various animated DC productions that I've come to hold dear (DCAU, Young Justice, scattered movies here and there. Feel free to chat me up with PMs if you want to nerd out with me over how good Flashpoint Paradox was). In any case, I just thought I'd let you guys know in case that's a concern to you.**

**As a fan fiction writer, I am doing this story purely for entertainment and do not seek any kind of profit or personal gain from the use of these characters and copyrighted materials. Not copyright infringement intended… please don't sue me. I can barely afford my college expenses as it is D:**

**But without further ado, I hope you enjoy the first installment of this Justice League adventure!**

**NEW NOTE 9/28/13: I changed the cover photo because the first one kind of looked like a pizza when smushed into the tiny resolution that the cover photo box allows. Please note that the featured Superman costume in the new picture is not the one that he supposedly wears in the story. In this story, Superman is wearing his classic costume and has his standard short hair. The long almost-mullet hair in JLA is one of the things that bothered me about the book, haha! Anyways, that is all.**

* * *

A subtle breeze-like "whoosh" sound crescendoed into a deafening howl of wind as a red blur approached an otherwise quiet corner of Keystone City. The blur disappeared behind a cluster of ancient apartment buildings for a couple of seconds, only to produce an equally red mop of hair residing on top of the head of an early twenties man a few seconds later. This man casually strolled into the sidewalk and down the block until reaching the entry staircase of a particularly old building. In a fluid motion of opening and shutting a series of doors, the man reached what had come to be his home over the past three months. He had been away for a couple of days – a business trip of sorts had him on the go, but he was eager to make his return to a certain TV news reporter.

"Linda? Guess who!" called the man cheerfully as he snatched an entire bundle of bananas out of the fruit bowl. A monstrous hunger was gripping him as he settled into the tiny dining area. "Linda?" he called again. After scarfing down three or four bananas over the course of thirty seconds, he popped up from his chair and began trudging through the rest of the apartment. It was of modest size, but large enough for him to maneuver through in the search for his significant other.

A shuffling sound from the study caught the man's attention as he peeked into the bedroom. In an instant, the man had moved to the doorway of the study and flattened up against the wall with a goofy smirk on his face. After a minute of patient waiting for the radiant beauty that was his girlfriend to emerge, he lost all motivation to pull his little prank. Disappointed, he spun around so that he was square with the door and pushed into the room only to find it empty as a cracked eggshell. Thoroughly confused, the man stood with a dumbfounded expression as he examined the miniscule office in which Linda performed the majority of her off-the-clock work. If she wasn't here, he was at a loss for where else…

_Oh, right. The bathroom. Duh._ He realized as he turned around to meet the gaze of a leering, shadowy figure.

"DEAR GOD IN HEAVEN! WHA-" Wally exclaimed as he nearly jumped through the roof. The shuffling had been nothing more than a Bat making its way into his cozy, home environment.

"We need to talk," said the figure as he moved to the open living area down the hall.

"We- YEAH. **Clearly** you've got somethin' to say to me if you're going to barge into my house _five minutes_ after I get home in broad daylight. I thought you only worked at night?" Wally grumbled as he followed the intruder into the living room and sat on a couch.

"My reason for meeting with you is somewhat urgent- we need a response from you as quickly as possible if we are to move on with what we're trying to do," came the response of the man who did not take a seat despite the implied offer. He stood at the window, staring outside from behind the opaque, white lenses of his mask.

"You? You need something from _me_? Did I run myself into an alternate dimension by mistake? I didn't even know you knew who I was. I mean, I know you because everyone knows who Batman is, but Uncle Barry didn't really bring me to a lot of Justice League meetings or anything." Wally replied.

"I know who you are. We all do. He talked about you all of the time. But now he's gone and unfortunately left us with a number of gaps in our-"

"Wait, are you _asking me_ to join the… Justice League?" Wally asked excitedly. The Dark Knight turned and glared hard at the eager young man who had the audacity to interrupt him. Realizing his mistake, the red head turned his gaze away for a couple of seconds before staring back apologetically.

"Barry left a hole in our team dynamic that cannot be easily filled. We've come upon some… pressing challenges recently that have reminded us of our limitations now as a fractured unit. If it were up to me, you and I would not be having this conversation, but the other members believe that you could be an asset to the team as suggested by your recent accomplishments." The Bat said slowly as he turned his sights to the window again. Wally couldn't figure out what he was so interested in out there… all that could be seen was an adjacent brick wall. The rent wasn't high because of the breathtaking views. He concluded that it was simply Batman's way of being dramatic.

"So, I guess the rumors are true? You guys _are_ getting back together again? As an official team that is?"

"The remaining members have met a couple of times since the disbanding. On and off, just to talk. But now we feel that it may be time to re-form the League. Our attempts at covert activity have already drawn the attention of the psychotic." Batman said with a scowl. Covert was kind of his shtick. The big Boy Scout in blue, on the other hand, had the subtlety of a freight train. He simply didn't **do** covert.

"So you're letting me help you guys take down the bad guy, or are you asking me to play the Flash long-term for this little Broadway production?"

"We'll assess your abilities close up while in the field. But we are pursuing you to be a part of this team as we face the challenges to come." Batman said with finality. To Wally, it didn't feel like he was being asked anymore.

"Well, I'm flattered, but are any other kids joining this party? Or just me because you think I'm special?" he asked with a wry smile.

"A similar meeting is being had with the newest Green Lantern as well as King Orin of Atlantis. The latter was invited to the original formation of the League, but turned us down out of commitment to his throne… or his deep ego if he's honest with himself."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait… The new Green Lantern? I mean, no disrespect to him or anything, but he's the most slipshod candidate that space cop brigade has scraped off of this planet! I mean really. The black guy did a decent job, but got too mopey after he thought he blew up that planet. And then the guy after him was a colossal dou- uhh, jerk. But the new kid? Well, he's a… kid. And he's insensitive to what's going on around him. Total lack of regard for the integrity of buildings while he's in a fight. The guy leveled more structures in one villain confrontation than the monster that killed Superman did over the course of three days. And that's including the military's contribution as they were trying to take him down. While, on top of all of this, he's so young and inexperienced!" Wally rattled off the whole rant so passionately that he was almost out of breath at the end of it. He didn't realize that all of this was bottled up inside of him until it had already spilled and pooled around Batman's feet as he scowled in the general direction of the couch that held the rambling speedster. Immediately after the speech concluded, the Bat gave his response.

"You're young. You do have some experience under your belt from sidekicking, but not nearly enough to call yourself an expert. I've watched _your_ interactions with supervillains and have my own list of grievances but that's not why I came here today. The other members of the League and I look for potential and that's what both of you have shown to us. But if you feel differently about our decisions, you are free to bring it up for consideration once you're inducted with full membership – _if_ you're inducted. For now, it's not your place to judge fitness for recruitment. We need a Flash, **and** we need a Green Lantern. No 'buts'."

"I hear you Batman. Maybe I'm just butt_hurt_, but Hal Jordan was like a second uncle to me. He was the BEST aside from Uncle Barry of course. But even with all of those other guys, I've never been able to accept any of them as _the_ Green Lantern. Just like people seem to have a hard time accepting me as Flash I suppose." Wally said with a markedly more somber tone. Batman just stood in silence as he allowed the young man to continue his venting. Once again, as soon as he was done, the Dark Knight spoke.

"In any case, we need your answer now. First meeting is tomorrow morning where we need to discuss our strategy with dealing with our new enemy. Time is of the essence with this situation, so we **will** discuss regardless of whether you decide to join up. So what will it be?" he said unapologetically. Wally looked at the floor and huddled forward a bit.

"Can I talk to Linda about it first? I guess I can give you an answer later tonight if you've got a Bat-phonenumber I can jot down."

"Belay that. Just be on the steps of Central City hall at 7 AM tomorrow morning if you plan on joining us. I trust that you know how to get across the river to reach the city?" Batman said as he straightened up – suggesting that he was ready to leave.

"Yeah." Wally said nonchalantly. "I ran that route all the time back when I had to-" Batman was gone before he had the chance to glance at the clock and back. Even the fastest man alive wasn't quick enough to see the vigilante leave the room sometimes.

He sat and churned the memory of the conversation in his mind for an hour or so. He was floored by the idea that the Justice League itself wanted him to become a member, but at the same time he wondered if they were just being nice. The previous Flash had become the heart of that team in many ways – the League often went out of its way to honor his memory in any way it could. But on the other hand, they sent the real, live Batman to ask him _in person_. That was one heck of an invitation.

However, all of this pondering was making him hungry. In minutes, four pots of Spaghetti-O's were on the stove cooking. If Linda was on one of her late night shifts again, he would starve to death before he got the chance to talk over the proposition as he intended to.

* * *

**I should point out that I am still a novice writer when it comes to fan fiction or writing in general. I implore you: please, please give me feedback. I want to know if I'm doing a terrible job so that I don't continue the trend and end up alienating the whole Justice League fanbase on this site. If people aren't enjoying what I write, I don't want to write it. So please, let me know what you think! Be as negative as you wish… I won't get offended! What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, or so they say. Tough love will go a long way in the long run – I'm sure of it!**


	2. Prologue - Part 2

**Hello again, welcome back! Once again, I urge you to let me know what you think of this! If there's anything that I could do better, I'll fully take it into consideration when writing future installments. If any experienced writers out there are willing to help a newbie out, I'd greatly appreciate a beta reader! In any case, thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

6:56 AM. Daylight was gingerly licking the horizon as the sun approached the morning sky. Wally sat in costume on the Central City city hall steps – swinging his knees in and out as he waited. He knew the drill, the Justice League Watchtower would get a lock on his position and beam him up with their magical sci-fi teleporter doohickey when they confirmed that it was him sitting on the steps waiting. Uncle Barry had done this all of the time, using this particular spot as his rendezvous point. Maybe once the League accepted him in as a full-fledged member, they would consider moving the beam-up spot to Keystone. Even if it and Central were twin cities across the Missouri River, the jog over was an unnecessary 60 second hassle. _Nothing a Snickers bar couldn't fix_ Wally decided as he began to unwrap the one he had brought along.

A few minutes later, he checked his watch again. 6:59:58, 6:59:59…

At 7:00:00 on the dot, a tingle in his sternum expanded into a vibration in his ribcage which exploded into his whole body falling into an indeterminate state and the strangest sensation Wally had ever felt. His vision blurred away from a quiet city street to a chrome, futuristic looking space station. Though hearing what it looked and felt like to orbit the Earth in the single most staggering piece of technology mankind had ever produced many times, Wally's jaw drop at the awe that flooded him as his sight came back into focus. Quickly hopping to his feet, he darted off of the teleporting pad and into the surreal glow of the Justice League's headquarters.

Still taking it all in, he didn't even notice the welcome party that stood to his left. The bulkiest member of the bunch took a gently laid a hand on the awestruck young man's shoulder which startled him from his drooling.

"Hi, you must be Wally. The new Flash? I'm-"

"Superman! Oh boy, you don't have to introduce yourself to me! You're a living legend! Along with Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, and my new pal Batman over there!" Wally said with a big old grin on the exposed section of his face. His eyes were smiling just as wide underneath his mask. Batman, on the other hand, was not. This caused Wally to reconsider using the team "pal" in the future when addressing the Dark Knight.

"We're happy to have you. Thanks for responding so promptly as well! It was uh… kind of funny how Barry managed to be late to 75% of meetings despite being the fastest man on the planet – er, one of them at least. Hopefully this means-" Superman trailed off as something picked up on his super hearing. He whirled around to seek out whatever was causing the disturbance and saw a green-glowing figure hanging outside of one of the clear-crystal windows. The young man waved to everyone inside and gestured for them to let him in.

"I'll open the bay doors for him," announced the Martian as he floated off to accomplish the task. Wally smirked smugly at the apparent tardiness of his fellow recruit. It looked like his assessment of his inadequacy was already bearing fruit.

"Anyway, as I was saying, we look forward to working with all of you as we try to get the League off of the ground again." Superman maintained a welcoming smile that Wally returned with delight. He already felt at home with the blue and red decorated hero.

"Arthur was ambiguous as to whether he planned to attend today's meeting when we spoke last night," Wonder Woman said to Batman who was now playing with a holo-projected display on his wrist. "In a typical Aquaman fashion, he rattled off his 'I'm a king and will not answer to surface-dweller beck and call' speech. I would keep an eye on his rendezvous location in case he does decide to show up later on."

"I'll pass the word along to J'onn. Right now, we should move towards the meeting room to get things started. Bruce Wayne does have a few commitments to deal with today," Batman announced in reply.

Superman and Flash joined Wonder Woman as they made their way into an adjacted corridor that would lead to the round table at which the old JL held their meetings. They expected that Batman would join them soon once he was done tinkering – he did that very often.

* * *

The large round table of the main meeting room had eight chairs for the eight former members of the League. Originally, seven members founded the team – Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Hal Jordan the Green Lantern, Barry Allen the Flash, Martian Manhunter, and Black Canary who essentially invited herself to join the League after assisting in their first fight with the starfish conqueror Starro. Later, her romantic interest Green Arrow joined the team after tagging along with Canary when the situation allowed for it. Both were great additions and contributed a lot to the legacy that the League carried.

However, after the death of Barry Allen, the dynamic was thrown off considerably. Things began to break down on the field and relationally among the members. The subsequent death of Green Arrow marked the beginning of the end for the team. Black Canary was no longer on speaking terms with the majority of the League, and Hal Jordan eventually was overtaken by a sort of madness over the loss of his two closest friends. Becoming possessed by the monstrous cosmic entity Parallax, he became a threat to the Earth that required the remnant of the League to take down. Hard. The pain involved in facing one of their own members was too much strain and caused the decision to disband to take effect. For over a year, the members remained distant – staying to their own territories of Gotham, Metropolis, Themyscira, etc. However, the matter at hand was too great for the heroes to ignore. And it was most certainly outside of their abilities to confront as individuals.

"We'll begin as soon as J'onn and Aquaman arrive from the teleporter room. For now, I encourage you both to become acquainted with the standing members of the League and one another," said Batman addressing Wally and Kyle Rayner who had taken the seats of their predecessors. The two exchanged glances at once. Kyle's grin was genuine enough, but still made Wally want to smack him a few thousand times. It was going to definitely take some time to find the motivation to "acquaint" himself with this doofus.

"I feel that we should make it clear that it was not an easy decision to bring on… replacements… for our fallen allies. Both Hal and Barry were valued members of this team and will remain that way in our memories of them. However, their roles and skillsets were imperative to our success as a functioning unit and are necessary for smooth operation." Wonder Woman added.

"Hey, I'm just jazzed to be here with you guys. I was a massive fan even before I got the ring. I followed your **every move** – joined forums, read fanfiction… even for you when you were Kid Flash," said Kyle excitedly, addressing Wally directly with the last part. In response, Wally jerked his head to the right in a strange blend of a nod and a shrug. The rest of the room smiled warmly at his enthusiasm with the exception of Batman who was stone faced as usual.

The elevator door slid open and the Martian Manhunter emerged with Aquaman in tow. The esteemed King of Atlantis was shirtless as usual and sported his hook prosthetic hand like a trophy. In truth, the circumstances that caused him to lose that hand were quite humble and unselfish, but his air of superiority that he constantly gave off skewed the perception a bit.

"Good. We're ready to begin," Batman started as he tapped some buttons on the control panel bringing up a hologram projection in the center of the table. "As the existing members of the League know, the activities of this man have brought about the end of our inactivity as a team." An image a short man with a large, egg-shaped head appeared on screen. "His name is Xotar, though he calls himself 'The Weapons Master'. He's a genius from a very distant time in our future. Though he doesn't appear physically threatening, the technology at his disposal and his demonstrated psychosis have flagged him as a danger to the public."

A few more holographic buttons were "pressed" and more images appeared.

"These are samples of the most powerful weapons in his arsenal," Batman continued, "Weapons Master claims to have discovered a journal belonging to a citizen of our time period that recounts the events of his defeat of the Justice League. Apparently, this journal says that he uses his most powerful weapons to destroy each member, winning him the day and allowing him to achieve a position of power. Though this proposed story has many logical flaws, his intention to use these weapons on us implies that he's willing to use them on others as well. This makes him dangerous to leave walking among the public."

"If this guy thinks he's such a hot rod, why doesn't he come fight us on our turf? Up here on the Watchtower?" asked Kyle.

"Yeah, I understand that you're new to this 'superheroes of Earth' club, but there's a rule about Justice League HQ… don't talk about Justice League HQ. No one is supposed to know about it and we'd like to keep it that way. This is way bigger of a deal than Fight Club, so the rule counts doubly hard." Wally interjected with a hard glare.

"The Watchtower is not public knowledge as of yet, but a number of the world's governments are aware of its existence. We've made a number of appearances at the United Nations to discuss the matter of orbiting our space station above Earth's atmosphere," Wonder Woman explained.

"And they're _okay_ with this?" Kyle asked in a legitimately surprised tone.

"Not exactly, but this does not hold any bearing on our current topic of discussion. Let's get back to it shall we?" said Batman flatly. Wally shot another unfriendly glance at Kyle. This guy was such a noob.

"We know the functionality of the majority of his signature weapons and are currently looking into ways to counteract them. For now, our concern is finding the location where he houses them and where he will undoubtedly launch his attack. I'm currently narrowing my list down. As it stand right now, I have 70 possible locations around the world." Batman said.

"70? That's gonna take forever to check every one!" complained Kyle.

"You do realize that we have a working teleporter and a guy who can run several times faster than the speed of sound? Do you really think that's much of a problem?" asked Wally vehemently.

"This has been narrowed down from over 10,000 possible locations. I can do detective work. It won't be difficult to whittle the list down further. What we _do_ need to concern ourselves with is how we plan to confront the villain when we do meet." Batman said to cut the nip the brewing argument in the bud. He and his fellow established members were beginning to reconsider their assessment of these two working together peacefully.

"Weapons Master is no doubt working with others. It's not likely that keeps his flow of supplies moving alone… We need to consider what kind of assistance he will have and what he will outfit them with to combat us should we enter direct conflict with his operation," Martian Manhunter observed.

"His flow of supplies is precisely how I've tracking his possible locations. A number of them are in and around the greater Metropolis area meaning Superman may be able to lend a hand with background necessary background as to how we can approach this," Batman said.

"I'll certainly do what I can. If you want me to do a fly-over of the city and inspect any of the locations, I'd be happy to do so," Superman said.

"So what can we expect when we actually throw down with the guy? Is he just going to sit back and shoot at us the whole time, or does he have trippy superpowers that we need to worry about?" asked Kyle.

"Weapons Master doesn't have any metahuman abilities as far as we observed. His intellect is formidable and he has access to many futuristic technologies that are a bit beyond our comprehension at the moment, but other than that he doesn't possess the raw power to take us on head to head. He does have an affinity for working with robotics however. We should be prepared as such," Batman explained.

"It doesn't take a whole lot of preparation to dodge bullets or explosions. I can take the guy out before he has a chance to pull any triggers if it comes to that," Wally said confidently.

"No. We don't work that way in combat. Breakdowns in teamwork were part of how we disassembled in the first place. We will accomplish this through assigning roles. Depending on the situation, they are subject to change," Batman said authoritatively. "Superman will handle damage control, meaning he will work to contain the fight and minimize property damage and civilian injury. Martian Manhunter will run crowd control – making sure that bystanders are clear and evacuated as necessary. He will also focus on any henchmen that may be present in the confrontation. Wonder Woman will focus on Weapons Master himself and the bulk of the physical fighting. Aquaman and Wally will assist her in this but are subject to her command. Anything she tells you to do, do it without fuss or complaint. Ky-"

"Do not presume so much as to command the King of Atlantis. I offer my aid to you out of the consideration you've shown me in the past in dealing with would be threats to Atlantis. However, my kingdom is my primary concern and I will prioritize her over any trifle you surface-dwellers feel needs attention. Should I choose to join you in battle, I shall not be made a minion and be subject to your command," Aquaman angrily stated. His fist was clenched and he emphatically pointed his hook hand to cement the point.

"Arthur, we don't intend to undermine your autonomy as a king, but we do ask that you work alongside us as we strive to operate as efficiently as our abilities allow," Wonder Woman said softly. No one appreciated Aquaman's arrogance, but in attempt to appease the short-tempered ocean dweller, they had to play nice every now and again.

"You will have my assistance should I present for this battle. However, I have experienced battle on more than one occasion. It is within my ability to fight competently without direction from others," Aquaman concluded. Batman scowled at this exchange, but held his tongue about how he felt about it.

All of this was giving him a bad feeling. It was clear that his former teammates were still apprehensive about pursuing this reformation of the team in the first place, and now the newest members were already proving difficult in meshing with the rest of the group. However, it was clear that the world needed a Justice League with crazy men like Weapons Master around – proclaiming destruction by their own hands. If not for the feeling of security that were heroes standing together in their defense, at least to show the bad guys that not everyone on the planet was willing to bend to their influence.

Though the road to creating an acceptable Justice League appeared to be as long as it seemed painful for the Bat.


	3. Prologue - Part 3

**(A/N): Hi all!**

**I was pleasantly surprised to see a couple of reviews spring up after the last chapter posting. It seriously feels like Christmas every time I see a new number in the 'review' section of the story info. It gave me just enough of a push to get one more chapter out before I have to take a break. There's a JavaScript web development project looming over my head that I need to focus on this weekend and in the coming week. That being the case, I can't devote a lot of time into writing in the coming days. I'm really bummed, but I suspect I'll be back soon.**

**In any case, though this chapter is shorter, BMWW fans might find a reason or two to rejoice. Next update will finally get to some action – what's a Justice League story without a good fight scene, right? I'm sorry if the writing seems a little bit weaker here, but I am still looking for a beta if anyone's interested!**

**Ok, I'll shut up now, here's chapter 3!**

* * *

The next five days disappeared in the blink of an eye. Many of the nights were sleepless for a certain Gotham playboy billionaire, but the effort paid off big time. He found Weapon Master's hideout.

After issuing a League alert with the details, he prepared the Batcave's personal Watchtower teleporter. It generally took a bit of time to boot up since it had to amass the right amount of energy to operate correctly, but once it was finished, Gotham's famed Caped Crusader stepped on top of it and energized his way up to the satellite.

Wonder Woman was waiting for him in the teleporter reception area. She had arranged this meeting with him to discuss the progress of Wally and Kyle's training sessions that Diana had been running daily with them. But from the look on the Amazon's face, Batman knew that he was in for an earful about the details.

"Shall we?" Wonder Woman said as she turned for the corridor that led to the training room. The duo made their way to the observation deck of the training area and settled in front of the monitor that held recorded footage.

"Their combat skills are up to par when evaluated individually," said Diana as she pointed to the coordinating section of the printed report. "However, when place in group scenarios, the results were more mixed. Wally performed acceptably when working with me as his partner. With Kyle, his performance dipped considerably. Kyle had a similar trend in his tests with Wally as a partner, but even with me, he seemed to underperform. It's nothing that more practice can't fix, but their tendency to bicker over the smallest details concerns me when imagining them in the field."

"It's not uncommon for boys their age to succumb to their heightened testosterone levels and drive to outdo one another. The rivalry can be linked to several factors including the fact that they're being evaluated by a woman of your mannerism and appearance." Diana couldn't help but smile at the Dark Knight's contrasting emotionless tone. She decided to just accept the compliment and move on. "In any case, it'll have to be addressed when they undergo their teammate relation counseling with J'onn. I'll pass these reports along to him to assist him with this. Anything else of note?"

"Well," the Amazon began, "On a bit of a related note… Kyle made multiple… comments… in regards to me in passing that I believe he didn't intend for me to hear. However, the issue became clearer once he began to make certain… advances… toward me in conversation that I didn't much appreciate."

Batman immediately picked up on what she was referring to and straightened up a little bit. Diana watched the corner of his mouth deepen into a scowl and once again battled a smirk. Even his stoic nature leaked his feelings sometimes.

"Don't worry. I threw him around a little bit harder than I originally intended to once we moved into sparring sessions. But it's still worth addressing at our next meeting. Or whenever you find the time to pull him aside yourself…"

"I'll definitely handle it. Anything else?" Batman said quickly, eyes still trained on the screen.

"Not much. Wally reminds me so much of Barry. He handled the support exercises really well. He has whirlwinds and vortexes down – a real natural. It's clear that they had a close relationship and that Barry trained him well." Diana remarked. The Dark Knight remained quiet for a couple of seconds then worked on sending the files to Martian Manhunter. Wonder Woman organized little things here and there around the room then moved to the door.

"Anything else to talk about Bruce?" she said as she pressed the button for the door to slide open.

"Not really. I trust that you got the alert?"

"I did."

"Good. We move in tomorrow evening. I'll have Flash and Green Lantern meet me here on the Watchtower before we get started. I've got a couple of things to make clear to them before we go into this."

"Well, go easy on them Bruce. We can't have them already trembling in their boots before they even meet see the villain," Wonder Woman joked. Batman made a noise that she assumed was an acknowledgement but saw him continue to type away.

Without another word, she headed to the teleporter. She figured she'd enjoy this night before having to jump back into the swing of things tomorrow. Not that the prospect of suiting up for a proper assignment was unappealing – quite the opposite. But she could feel a headache coming on alongside the sinking gut feeling that the first official Justice League mission in over a year was revving up to be a disaster.

* * *

**Like I said, our favorite heroes are heading into a big ol' throwdown next time. What I've written so far has been a bit of a "prologue" to the meatier portion of the story that will begin to usher in the REAL villain (:O suspense!). But, again, thank you 1000x to your kindness so far. It really helps me out!**

**Until next time!**


	4. Prologue - Part 4

**(A/N): Phew. This week went by quickly, but it sure was tiring. The reason why I haven't been updating is because I had this massive JavaScript project to finish for a class that I really should have started weeks ago and anyway… I won't bore you with details. All that matters is I'm back and hoping to get back to a semi-regular update schedule. I feel bad for leaving this story in the dark for so long, but anyway, I'd like to thank people for their continuing support. It means a lot!**

**This is my first attempt at an action sequence. I've watched enough cartoons and movies to know how it's kind of supposed to go, but I'm not sure if I'm capturing it well enough with words. I guess that's up to you decide.**

**Lastly, let me warn you that it is loooong and I mean LONG. I don't anticipate every update being this way, but hopefully you don't hate me for throwing this many words at you at one time.**

**In any case, here we go with part one of the main story!**

* * *

Of the remaining original Justice League members, J'onn J'onzz was the most enthusiastic about recreating the team. The other members often referred to him as the heart of soul of the group – the glue that kept them all together… until outside circumstances pulled them apart that is.

To J'onn, the League was his Earthly family. Despite being on Earth for many years before the creation of the team, no humans had ever accepted him the way that they did. He adopted a human form and took up the name "John Jones" for its similarity to his Martian name. The poor scientist that had accidentally transported him to Earth suggested this before dying of a heart attack. Though it wasn't his fault, J'onn felt guilty for the old man's death due to the fright that he had caused. He made it his purpose to give back by protecting the people of Earth to which the scientist belonged – in hopes of one day finding a place within them.

The Justice League became that place for him. Once the opportunity presented itself for the Martian to join the band of misfits who dedicated their efforts to stopping all threats that rose against humanity, he took it eagerly. Though Batman frightened him, Green Lantern got on his nerves, and Wonder Woman's aggression often made him uncomfortable, he came to appreciate each of them and the friendship that they eventually developed with him despite his foreignness.

The disbanding of the team hit J'onn the hardest because of the deep connections he had made with these people. Flash, Green Lantern, and the archer Green Arrow were dead, Black Canary essentially shunned the superheroic community, and the rest of the group were itching to retreat to their home cities. The Martian, who really had nowhere to go, simply picked up the life of a private investigator in a small town. The cases he took on served as decent distractions from the pain of the break, but didn't heal the wounds that caused it. That's why the suggestion of getting back together got him so excited – he was ready and willing to do anything to make this thing work. Unfortunately, this enthusiasm landed him with the one job that no one else wanted to take on… Babysitting the recruits.

Before the alien stood the new Green Lantern and the new Flash as they bickered on and on over a range of topics. They _were_ having a teammate relations counseling session until it broke down into the squabbling for the fifth time. Now, the Martian Manhunter was exhausted and ready to give up.

"Dude, have you even seen the guy?" Kyle shouted in Wally's face. "When he juices up, he's like ten feet tall and bulkier than a hippopotamus! When he starts running, he doesn't bother going around things, he just barrels through them. Because he **can**."

"So? I'm best friends with the guy who _fought_ him on multiple occasions," Wally fired back. "Well… with Batman's help of course… but he's not so tough once you disconnect the tube feeding him his drug. He deflates like a popped beach ball and gets all loopy from the sudden loss of the rush. Bam! He's down for the count."

"Yeah, but a guy with crocodile skin isn't going to be standing long enough to disconnect _anything_ out of a rampaging giant! Sharp teeth? Ok, but I'd like to see how well teeth serve him after they're all knocked out from one punch!" Kyle said with a sneer.

"Dude, Croc even gives Batman the willies… BATMAN! The guy who can trade blows with your muscly hippopotamus man, aliens, raging monsters, and even keep pace with **us**! Well, not me but… you get the idea," said Wally.

"Hog. Wash. I'm pretty sure Batman has won more fights against Crocky more than Bane. You do realize that he _broke_ Batman's back once?"

"Yeah, for like 5 weeks! Then he was back in action – kicked Bane's butt in record time and hauled half of his gang to jail along with him. Croc doesn't even need a gang. He's just beastly."

"He doesn't have a gang because no one wants to hang around a smelly dinosaur man that's always looking at people like he wants to eat 'em."

"Yup, your comedic material is running dry already. You seem to come up short in more ways than just being a Green Lantern."

"Oh ho, no. Do not even go there!"

And so it continued. J'onn began massaging the bridge of his nose. Martians typically didn't get headaches from things like this, but he could feel his mind weakening from the two boys' constant arguing. All he wanted was for the team to interact soundly with one another. He was bracing for another dramatic failure in keeping the peace.

"Batman to Watchtower. J'onn, are you there?"

Saved by the bell. Martian Manhunter quickly clicked his communicator to respond.

"Yes Batman. Go ahead."

"We've confirmed the target. Weapons Master has his men moving cargo from the shipyards into the building that I've staked out. He apparently guessed that we would be coming for him since he's lined each crate with lead. Superman tried but couldn't see inside of them. Whatever he's working on, it'll likely have direct impact on us."

"Understood. Shall I beam down with Flash and Green Lantern?"

"Not yet. I still need to talk with them about a few things before we begin. Do they have their communicators yet?"

J'onn looked over to where to the two were still going at each other across the room. He could spot the tiny, metal earpiece sitting in Kyle's ear.

"Yes. Our session today was a little less fruitful than the last one… I honestly don't know what it is with them."

"Thank you for your help J'onn. They'll straighten out soon enough if they want to continue being a part of this team. I'll contact you once everything is in place and we're ready to move in. Batman out."

* * *

The weather forecasts were dead-on accurate. Partly cloudy, 30% humidity, 56⁰F. It was merely dusk in the city of Metropolis, much earlier than the Dark Knight was accustomed to being out. However, he wasn't exactly accustomed to this city.

His investigation on Xotar the Weapons Master lead him to the city's southernmost district – The Suicide Slum (as it was so endearingly nicknamed by its inhabitants). It used to be a nice part of town, but fell victim to industry. Factory after factory emerged as it drove quality of life into a downward spiral. The unlucky people living here were forced to take on manufacturing jobs with terrible pay and awful work conditions. As a result, crime ran rampant and earned the section of the city the title of "the place that even Superman has forsaken".

Dirty and crime-ridden was like home to Batman, so he wasn't particularly thrown by the dingy sights around him. All he was focused on was the battle ahead of him. He was positioned on a stack of discarded shipping crates across the street from Weapons Master's hideout on the edge of the Suicide Slum. Once satisfied with his assessment of the surrounding area, he radioed the whole League at once.

"Batman to Justice League. The grounds are clear and we're ready to move in. We'll proceed the way that we originally planned. Lantern, you and Diana will rendezvous here with me. After Flash and Superman have flushed Weapons Master out of whatever hole he's hiding in, you two will enter and engage. Remember, your focus is on containment – we don't want this fight spilling into the streets. Pay particular attention to any guards or henchmen so that they don't escape with important equipment. Understood?"

"Y-yes sir!" Kyle hesitantly blurted through the mic. He seemed particularly shaken after Batman's "talking to". J'onn did sympathize with him for that, but was grateful that the recruits toned down significantly after that exchange.

"Flash, you can begin moving towards the warehouse. Once Superman is ready, you two can breach and find Weapons Master," Batman continued.

"Don't sweat it Batman, I can get in there and force this guy out faster than you can say 'Batarang'," Wally said confidently.

"Wait a second Flash-" Superman warned as he descended on the pier that Batman had marked as the location. He saw out of the corner of his eye a red blur approaching from out in the bay. It vaulted up onto the street and barreled in towards the warehouse at blinding speed. To Superman's dismay, the scarlet clad speedster did not heed his words. The blur disappeared into a side entrance of the building.

"Flash! This is not what we discussed," Batman growled into his communicator from his perch. He glared into the binocular-like device he was using to watch the building.

"Don't worry about me guys, I can handle anything this joker ca- *GUHH*" the voice abruptly stopped broadcasting.

"Flash?" Wonder Woman called with a concerned tone. Superman, who was now at the entrance himself, peered through the wall with his Kryptonian x-ray vision. He saw Flash staggering to his right at a slightly reduced speed from that which he entered. He accelerated in this new direction only to be suddenly thrown backwards by an invisible force. Struggling to keep his footing, he shot off in yet another direction. He only made it a yard or two before suddenly buckling at the knees and toppling forward. On his descent towards the ground, his head quickly snapped backwards from yet another invisible strike midway through his fall. When he finally hit the ground, it became clear that he was knocked out cold. Whatever he had hit – or been hit by – had rattled him pretty hard due to the speed with which he was moving.

Superman stood just inside of the door, stunned by what he just saw. He felt the urge to swoop in and assist his fallen teammate, but was still unsure of what had caused the "performance" he just witnessed. Switching between his multitude of vision types, he couldn't pick up _anything_ in the empty room. That was the most peculiar part of all – the room was dark, but clearly completely empty. Taking a few cautious steps forward, Superman suddenly heard what sounded like the blast of an energy-based weapon and was suddenly thrown to the ground.

Maniacal laughter shattered the stillness of the air. Superman watched in shock as the contents of the room decloaked before his eyes. The emptiness – it was an illusion. An advanced holographic trick no doubt. And the perpetrator was standing in the center of it all.

"Welcome Kryptonian! As even your laughable intellect can probably gather, I've been expecting you! Prepare to face annihilation!" screeched a malicious sounding voice from inside of a large, golden robot at the center of the room.

"Superman, what's happening in there?" asked Wonder Woman through her commlink.

"They need help. You and Lantern go in now!" Batman said quickly. Green Lantern who was right beside him began floating forward but hesitated about halfway across the street.

"Batman? Should I… wait… for Wonder Woman or-"

"Just go! Remember, containment." Batman snapped.

"Right, right, but I should probably help the big guy though," Kyle said as he renewed his flight forward. He swooped in through the same side door that Superman and Flash had entered beforehand. The golden robot with the eggheaded maniac inside was standing over the red and blue hero. Eight other slightly smaller robotic suits with henchmen inside stood behind Weapons Master's big one – each looked equally powerful to Weapons Master's. Kyle landed just behind Superman and glared at all of them.

"Your little Megazord squad is impressive, dork. But I've got the most powerful weapon in the universe. This fight isn't going to last long," Kyle jeered as he gestured towards his ring bearing hand.

"You're quite right, Lantern. It will not last long at all," Weapons Master said dramatically as he raised an arm of the robotic suit. Some panels flipped up and out to transform into a strange weapon resembling a gun. The young Green Lantern dropped into a defensive stance with a green shield extending in front of him. The gun drew power for a couple of seconds then fired a rapid burst of several shots. The "bullets" that fired all exploded midflight. They expanded into bubbles of energy that began engulfing some of the previously hidden items in the rooms. Kyle tightened the curve of his shield in anticipation of blocking the bubbles, but instead was engulfed in one that hit the shield head-on. The bubble didn't stop and carried the flailing Green Lantern through a wall of the building. The barrage of the bubbles that were all carrying something inside of them began to pick up speed once they hit the open air. Batman was forced to dive out of the way of their path as they shot out into the bay. Once over the water, they began ascending until they were headed for the upper atmosphere. Kyle was frantically swinging his arms and legs and screaming the whole way up as he disappeared into the darkening sky.

Wonder Woman dropped from her invisible plane above the warehouse and penetrated one of the glass windows on the roof. She landed right in front of Weapons Master's robot and lunged forward into it before another burst could fire from the energy sphere weapon. While all of this transpired, Superman had recovered and flew to Wally's aid. The speedster still laid unconscious in a heap behind the henchman that had delivered the final blow. The goon was now beckoning to Superman from inside of the protective robotic suit. Three of his compatriots had gathered beside him and joined the taunting.

Martian Manhunter phased through the wall behind Superman and landed at his teammate's side. The two turned to face the four henchmen as they got into fighting stances.

"I'll get Flash to a safe place. Do you think you handle these guys yourself until I get back?" Superman asked his Martian friend.

"As the Earthlings like to say so often, it'll be a piece of cake," J'onn replied with a subtle smile. The two burst forward in unison and swept away two henchmen a piece. Superman scooped Wally up and flew through the hole in the ceiling that Wonder Woman made on her entry.

Meanwhile, Batman ziplined through the hole in the wall that Kyle was just sucked through. The plan was clearly falling to pieces, but he was determined to play his part the way that was originally intended. He stole a glance in Wonder Woman's direction. She was locked in battle with Weapons Master and two of the metal suited henchmen. She was holding her own against Weapons Master and was easily swatting away the two minions that continuously tried to butt in on the fight. Content, he continued up the second floor of the warehouse where his objective lay.

* * *

Superman gently laid Wally atop one of the Steelworks towers. The plant had been suffering some financial issues and was not currently in operation. Superman was confident that the boy would be safe here until the fighting ended.

Satisfied with his decision, he spun around and swooped towards the pier once more. He noticed a crowd of people gathering as he neared the building. They were at a decent distance, but he knew that they didn't need any unnecessary risk. He altered his course to fly directly over the growing mass.

"Please stay back. The Justice League is handling this situation. Please try to remain calm." Superman recited this spiel so many times that he worried he said it in his sleep. Though he wasn't married, he worried that if he one day made that decision, his wife would get as tired of the speech as he was.

The people slowly responded to the warning by moving back a few feet, but not quite to the distance Superman was hoping. However, there wasn't much time to plead with them, so he continued on to where the fight was continuing.

As he descended into the main storage space of the building, he saw that things had not improved since he left. Two of the henchmen's robotic suits had be put out of commission, but now J'onn was taking on all six that remained. Diana was locked in combat with Weapons Master's big golden one on the other side of the room. She was barely making a scratch, but seemed to be holding up well enough. Batman was nowhere to be found. Superman decided that J'onn needed his help the most. He dropped his full weight down into the midst of the henchmen. The force of the impact sent them all flying backwards. Superman lunged into the one directly in front of him, throwing a punch square in the suit's chest then bringing both of his hands together for a backwards swing that connected with the head. Once the suit was on the ground, Superman grabbed the dented metal of the chest and ripped it clean off. The man inside was now exposed to the open air. Superman grabbed him out of the suit and tossed him to the side.

Another one of the henchmen had recovered and began to charge toward Superman. He caught the suit by the arm and swung it hard into the ground at his feet. Another one launched toward him and fired a rocket. The shell hit Superman square in the chest and sent the hero backwards a few yards. Barely hurt by it, the Kryptonian bounded back grabbed hold of the rocket launcher attached to the suit's arm. He crushed it into a ball then struck the head of the robot with the twisted metal. The optical display that allowed the henchman inside to see what was going on was damaged severely. The man opened the faceplate of the suit only to see Superman reach in and rip the whole front part open similarly to the first one. This henchman was also tossed into an adjacent wall as Superman leaped towards the next opponent.

* * *

Wonder Woman squirmed as the enormous hand of Weapons Master's suit clenched her face. She felt it swing her to the side then violently throw her into a stack of boxes. She shakily raised her head to see the robot facing her squarely. She looked down and saw that the box she was lying on top of spilled out a number of grenade-like metal spheres. She grabbed an armful and began activating and chucking them one by one. Weapons Master was able to shoot most of them before they reached him but two landed at his feet and detonated. A bright red flare of light erupted from both of them and made the futuristic genius stumbling in the suit.

Diana thought that the hue of red was oddly familiar, but then widened her eyes in realization when she saw what it did to Superman. They were _red sunlight_ grenades. Somehow they managed to contain that radiation in their shells that release on exploding. It wasn't entirely hard to believe since Xotar the Weapons Master was a well-connected genius from some absurdly distant time in the future. But Batman's hunch was right. He did design his weapons with the League in mind.

Ditching the pile of grenades, she flew forward in a physical attack once more. She brought a punch down towards the golden suit's shoulder only to be blocked by its massive forearm. Holding her in place above its head, Weapons Master brought the other arm in a chopping motion that hit Diana in the abdomen. She hit the ground hard and opened her eyes to see the suit's foot coming down over her. She quickly raised her arms to hold it back as Weapons Master diverted more and more weight down on that foot.

Hearing the sounds of her struggle, Superman stole a glance in her direction. He had just neutralized the fourth henchman and trivially tossed him into the same mound that the prior victims were lumped in. He checked back to see J'onn taking on the last three decently well, so decided to fly off to help Diana.

Throwing his full weight into the back of Weapons Master's suit, he sent it toppling forward – assisted by Diana pushing the foot up and over her head. Superman helped her up but suddenly clutched his chest. He realized that he really **felt** that impact with the suit. The red sun radiation was still affecting him. Realizing this as well, Diana gave him a reassuring look to let him know that she was ok and ready to fight on. However, she truthfully wasn't feeling the best herself. She could handle being thrown around a bit in a fight, but not when she wasn't making much of a dent to the enemy that was doing the throwing.

Weapons Master recovered as quickly as they did and fired a barrage of plasma beams back at the duo. Diana dodged them, but Superman took a couple of hits. Not able to immediately jump to his aid, she instead went full force toward Weapons Master. Unleashed a series of punches and kicks, she furiously attacked the golden armor once more. To her disappointment, every one of them was blocked. The suit's left arm began to transform. Diana noticed that what was shaping up didn't look like a gun or even a weapon… it was something else. Suddenly, she felt very weak at the knees and crumpled onto the ground. It felt as if the room was spinning and she felt her body pressing harder and harder against the ground. The device on the suits arm radiated a blueish light and made fluctuating buzzing noises.

"This gravity amplifier was actually designed for the Flash – even at his great speeds, he would not be able to resist the intensified gravity. Funny, I didn't even know that you have even _replaced_ him in your little 'superhero society'. Call it luck or quality preparation. In any case, it seems to work just as well on you as it would him," Weapons Master gloated as he lowered the weapon closer to the cringing Amazon. She was beginning to feel her bones pushing against one another. It was extremely painful, but the stress on her body was great that she couldn't even scream. "However, this isn't even the interesting one!" Weapons Master announced as he abruptly transformed the arm of the suit again. This time, something reminiscent of a particle gun materialized and fired a fine beam at Wonder Woman.

This time, she felt a force seemingly causing her body to implode on itself. She could feel the external pull that was crushing her into the ground a few seconds ago now inside of her chest. The room seemed to expand at an alarming rate as she began to decrease in size. The beam was _shrinking_ her. **Now** she started screaming though the sound quickly began to diminish with her size. Superman pulled himself off of the ground (the gravity had affect him as well) and glared in Weapons Master's direction.

"Diana!" he cried as he directed his heat vision at the center of the armor.

From one level above, Batman's attention was grabbed by the shout. He quickly moved out of the room he was in and towards the elevated walkway that was open to the main storage room where the fight was going on. To his horror, he saw Diana's already small frame seem to disappear from view on the ground. The utter shock of what saw only clouded his resolve for a split second. He quickly whipped out an explosive Batarang and threw it right into the rifle that still churning out the shrink beam. The tiny metal contraption made contact with the gun just as the panels began to shift in transformation into a new device. Weapons Master seemed frazzled for a second as the suit refused to transform. He was then greeted by an explosion that reverberated through the whole suit and impaired his balance momentarily.

To his relief, Diana's shrinking began to reverse itself immediately. The weapon was clearly destroyed and the functionality of the left arm of the suit seemed inhibited. Batman quickly ducked back into the room he was just in and finished the work that he had started in a hurry. Closing a tablet-like device, he then reemerged and glided down into the open area with the use of his cape.

Touching down, he swiftly moved to where Superman was huddled over Wonder Woman. She was lying motionless, but still breathing. It seemed pretty clear that she would not be returning to the fight. Meanwhile, Martian Manhunter was fighting the last of the robot suited henchmen. The enemy was on the ground and had one arm badly damage. With the alien reaching for the faceplate of the suit, the man inside made one last ditch attempt at gaining the upper hand – transforming the functional arm into a long, sleek looking weapon, he pointed it at the Martian's face and fired. A stream of flames erupted from the open end of the weapon. J'onn yelled in pain and surprise as he felt all of the strength leave his body. He only made contact with the flames for a fraction of a second but felt as if he had be bathed in them for hours. He fell to the ground, trembling. Superman saw what was happening and quickly hobbled in the direction of the struggle.

Batman watched him go then quickly directed his attention back to Weapons Master who was also facing the direction of the attack. He nodded towards the henchman who caught his master's glance and nodded in acknowledgement. The henchman swiftly turned, grabbed a crate that was clearly set to the side from the other cargo, and blew a hole in the wall. Superman had reached J'onn and was tending to his friend when he heard the commotion the rose up from outside of the warehouse. The same crowd of people that he had ordered back earlier were now swarming around a group of citizens who were caught in the blast from the henchman's cannon. They looked badly hurt.

"Guuuhhooo" J'onn moaned to Superman and gestured for him to go help the people. Without hesitation, the blue and red hero floated out to where the injured bystanders laid. He was greeted by a familiar red blur. Immediately, the speedster began babbling his apology.

"Superman, I know I screwed up badly and-"

"Stow that talk, Flash. These people are all that matter right now. We need to get them medical attention," Superman interrupted. He noticed that the press had arrived and were mingling with the crowd. This was going to be one heck of a headline for them – Justice League Fails during First Public Appearance.

* * *

Batman hit the ground hard as the golden armor straightened up above him. He landed right next to Diana again who was still unconscious. He wiped the thin stream of blood from his lip and got up again.

"I beg you, Dark Knight. Stay down. You are merely causing me to expel unnecessary energy. Your team seems to have gotten its fill of struggle anyway," Weapons Master said with an evil grin. The glass window that allowed him to see outside of the armor was visibly scratched but not yet cracked. Aside from the jagged metal on the left arm, the suit didn't appear very damaged at all.

Stepping backwards, the whole suit began to glow a bright white light. Suddenly, and without warning, a very disheveled looking Green Lantern burst into the room and materialized a large green hand to grasp the shining armor. This only seemed to intensify the light as the buzzing and whirring crescendoed.

"Until next time, Justice League. I suppose we can count this as a draw… if we're looking at this situation generously… I trust that next time you will provide a more interesting challenge," Weapons Master said with an air of authority. He ascended a bit then vanished into thin air.

Kyle's construct fell flat and Batman stood with a tighter scowl than usual. Superman and Flash returned to the room, trying to keep the press off of their backs as they entered. Martian Manhunter was back on his feet but appeared to be in pain. Batman knelt beside Wonder Woman and begin to treat a couple of wounds that he spotted.

The only sound that could be heard at this point was the murmur of the crowd outside, the crackling of the flames that were scattered across the room, and the hum of Batman's instruments. Wally, who was still rubbing his head, step forward and broke the silence.

"Ay. It feels like someone… made scrambled eggs out of my brain…"

"Yeah, nature took care of that for you a long time ago buddy-boy," Kyle said maliciously.

"That's enough out of both of you," Superman said angrily. It wasn't often that the Kryptonian visibly showed irritation, but both Wally and Kyle went silent as a result of it.

"It appears that one of Weapons Master's henchmen escaped with some equipment," J'onn observed. More silence followed.

Diana seemed to finally come to and instantly began fussing with Batman for trying to play nurse. Amazons were thought to be immortal. They could take injury, but retain perpetuity. Their short argument staved off silence for a bit until Batman convinced her to let him walk her to her plane. After the princess was on her feet and the pair began walking toward the exit. The rest of the group silently watched the two as they went.

Just before moving through the doorway, Batman stopped and angled his head over his shoulder. "The regular meeting time still stands. We **will** discuss this." The rest stood in solemn acknowledgement. They all knew that a "discussion" was forthcoming. They all were just glad that it wouldn't be taking place that night.

Superman quickly turned and flew up and out through one of the holes in the ceiling. After exchanging sour glances one last time, Flash and Green Lantern went their separate ways as well. J'onn remained where he was and sadly looked at the broken ground at his feet. He remembered that in addition to supporting the notion of recreating the team most enthusiastically, he was the one that pushed the hardest for recruiting Wally West as the new Flash, and Kyle Rayner as the new Green Lantern. No one disagreed that the previous Flash and Green Lantern were inseparable parts of the team both on a functional and personal level. But J'onn held onto faith that (with a great deal of training) the successors of the two heroes could fill the shoes well and be an asset to the new Justice League.

He was, of course, fully prepared to take the blame if it turned out that this proved wrong.

* * *

Batman brought the Batwing down just outside of the Batcave. The usual entrance that he took the jet into was currently out of commission do a mistake by his protégée, Robin. This was the third boy he had taken in and offered his crimefighting partnership to. Unfortunately, this one was proving to be the most difficult to get through basic training.

The vigilante slowly climbed out of the cockpit. His injuries weren't anything major enough to take him out of commission, but he was certainly going to be sore the next morning at the board meeting. He swiftly moved to the hidden panel that would grant him access to his safe haven.

However, as if on cue, multiple presences dropped down behind him as he prepared to interact with the panel. In one fluid motion, he grabbed a handful of mini flashbang Batarangs, threw them in an arc behind him, and swept his cape over his shoulder so to shield his face. He sensed that the contraptions went off and lowered his arm to survey the damage. A blur accelerated into his line of sight and the impact of the strike sent him backwards against the wall. Recovering quickly, Batman regained his footing, and raised his left are to defend his face as he lashed out with a kick from his left leg. The target caught his leg midflight and threw it towards the ground. He heard a sharp crack but oddly didn't feel any pain.

In fact, he was having a hard time feeling anything at the moment. The daze was like a cloud converging in on his mind. It was one of the strangest sensations that he ever felt, but the strangest part was that he had felt it before.

The fleeting sense of consciousness in his mind was making it hard to fixate on when he had sensed it before but it definitely had something to d- **J'onn**. This felt exactly like the one time that he allowed the Martian to read his mind. He had to invite the alien in psychically and it felt like a blurry cloud working its way into the crevices of his brain. But this feeling had a more aggressive and sinister feeling to it. It certainly wasn't being invited. As if to compensate, it felt like it was forcing its way in with a battering ram. In his last moments of being awake, Bruce Wayne saw the deep red eyes as they leveled with his own.

For this moment, he wasn't Batman anymore. Whatever his assailant was, it was powerful – and certainly not human. He had been rendered helpless. And Batman was **never** helpless.

* * *

**Again, sorry that this went this long. In the future, I guess I'll split it into two parts if it turns out like this again, but the goal is to have 9 parts with three sort of arcs in the story. Like a play with three acts – each one with a beginning, a middle, and an end. I've already kind of thrown that out of the window with the prologue, but we'll see how things turn out.**

**In any case, thank you for reading (especially if you've read this far) and I hope you enjoyed. If there's anything that I could do better, PLEASE bring it to my attention to I can improve my future writing. Be as brutally honest as you would like. Next part should be coming out within the week so look out for it!**


	5. Please Read

**This isn't a chapter, but rather is an update/announcement. It bears good news and bad news.**

**The bad news is, I'm discontinuing this story as it stands right now. The good news is, I'm not killing it, I'm simply… renovating it.**

**There are a ton of reasons why there's been such a long break in between updates, but the biggest (and honestly most embarrassing) one is that I've hit something of a writer's block. It's not the kind where I don't know where to take the story, I have the whole plot outlined from beginning to end already and it's in a file sitting on my desktop. The problem is that I think I approached a few things the wrong way and have kind of played up the wrong side of the story. It's kind of a complicated explanation that I don't want to bore you with so I'll cut to the chase.**

**I'll be taking some time off to just write the story without uploading for a while so that I can finish it and get a regular cadence of updates. It will grant me to opportunity to avoid this situation as well – so that if I feel like I write myself into another corner, I can fix it without screwing with what's already been done.**

**So an appropriate question that is probably going through your mind is probably: "So what's going to happen to ****_this _****story? The answer is… nothing. I'm going to leave it up and mark it as "complete". It will serve as a prequel to the main story that will be launched as a new title after it has been finished. You who read and supported this story in its state here and now can benefit from knowing a little bit beforehand before the main plot launches. In essence, these chapters here are just for fun.**

**Sorry that this happened this way, but it's for the best I think. I appreciate your kind words and hope you'll enjoy the finished product when it rolls around. Ta ta for now!**


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